Not so long ago we received an invitation by GRÄFE UND UNZER (publishing house) to join a book launch event in the center of Munich. GRÄFE UND UNZER -in case you didn’t know- have been market leader for cookbooks in Germany for over thirty years now – always known for down to earth, comprehensible and no-fuss cookbooks. Out of curiosity I started counting all GU, Teubner and Hallwag books (different sub-brands of GRÄFE UND UNZER with different foci) on my bookshelf – and gave in after 26 or 27… yes, they are quite well represented in my cookbook library, too ;)

So last week we found ourselves among a select group of journalists, photographers, cooks and other invitees. In case that may sound a tad stiff, far from it! A first glance was all it took to understand that this is was anything but an uninspired, official we-kinda-have-to-do-this type event. Quite the opposite, a well organized food happening in a quaint location. By the way, it was the very same location where most, if not all shots for the book were taken (by Coco Lang).

Speaking of which. Possible doubts about whether or not the world needed another cookbook, were quickly dismissed after reading the first few pages. Apart from my very own opinion (there can never be enough cookbooks!), “Wie koch’ ich…?” is so wittily and charmingly written, it’s a more than welcome change from some of those antisepticcookbooks out there. The concept caters to the entry level cook, revealing little tricks about the one or other recipe and method, helping to understand what can make or break a dish. Different sections are dedicated to different ingredients, for each including a whole range of dishes, basic recipes as well as more elaborate ones – including easy-peasy scrambled eggs& fruit salad as well as perfect oefs bordelaise& turrets of orange-cookies with green tea cream at the other end of the spectrum… Sebastian’s very own recipes all have one thing in common: They taste delicious (the surfer’s banana pancakes we tried yesterday were a hit!) and he also understands to navigate the reader carefully around possible pitfalls. Culinary intuition is great, the more you cook, the more you can rely on it. But I don’t know, how many times I literally cursed a cookbook recipe, that said “fry in a pan until done“. Hot pan? What pan? Medium heat? Flip? When? How often? When is “done” done? Sure you can always wing it, but in the end it’s simply annoying to go by trial and error (at least when you do it for the first time). Chances are slim that you’ll run into anything like it with this book. After all Sebastian worked as a chef himself for many years and shares his knowledge in a very sensible and approachable way.

In line with the book’s concept, the event was all of the above: entertaining, scrumptious, held in a warm atmosphere, putting everyone in a spring mood and in the end we learned the one or other thing – what a wonderful idea to present a new book!

To kick things off, Sabine Sälzer, a well knownfood writer herself and project manager (editorial office) gave a brief introductory note on GU’s and Sebastian Dickhaut’s cooperation and the international track record of the GU BASIC series. Making a seamless transition to the workshop and Sebastian’s planned menu:

The four-course menu commenced with a hearty butter & herb spread (green sauce inspired) on a slice of farmers bread, followed by carrot soup shots (small cups of tasty soup), lamb chops with oven baked oriental spiced potatoes and an oven-caramelized tomato/sheep milk cheese combo. Concluded with -and you should have seen O’s sparkly eyes when he found out about it- Kaiserschmarrn. The latter came with an artistic highlight, two helping cooks throwing pan cakes (that’s really what it is, before turned into this version of Kaiserschmarrn) in the air, passing them back and forth! Whether is was the artistic throwing or simply the recipe, the dessert turned out fantastic. The Zwetschgenröster (a type of plum compote) on the side was to die for and as we learned later, self-made by our favorite herb and preserves stall at the local market – note to self: must buy asap!

Throughout the cooking Sebastian did a wonderful job in both keeping a starving crowd happy and providing good background info on his book, allowing everyone to take a glimpse into his past years as a chef and food writer.

Unlike events that bore the heck out of me and where I get antsy after the first 30 minutes, that night, time flew by in a hurry. The workshop wasn’t only a fun way to pragmatically demonstrate some of the books recipes, but also enabled very interesting conversations with professional food photographers and food stylists. Knowing O’s interest in absurdly sharp knives and his current mission to find the perfect knife (does it exist??), I immediately knew that he’d be the first in line to help in the workshop. Can’t remember how many different knives there were, but he sure tried them all…

All in all a very successful launch event leaving behind a lasting impression, or in other words kudos to the GU team!!

Wow, I have to own that recipe book! I'm already inspired… now we just need an english version. Please!

Chiara

Mar 20th, 2006

Your vivid pictures give a great impression of what looks and sounds like a fun event! Being a cookbook addict myself, I hope the book will be published in English soon :) I’m still a beginner in the kitchen, that’s why I prefer well explained, detailed recipes.

Awesome pictures! It's really captured that fun moments. Wish i can be there too. I must agree with noodle, i wan't to buy the english version of that book...if it's available. I'm just crazy about cookbooks!

Your photos really seem to capture the mood of that entertaining book launch - makes me wish I had been there myself:)

Shari

Mar 20th, 2006

Your photography and descriptions are phenomenal. I just discovered your blog and think it is fantastic. If you are at all interested in seeing other food blogs or food communities, you should consider checking [this out]! Thanks again for the insightfuland wonderful post!!

you're right, sounds like the perfect way to present a new cookbook! since the book isn't available in english (yet?), i'm going to take a closer look at the english basic series now ;) and i should improve my german, since i have been living here for almost 6 month now and people still give me strange looks, when i try to speak it!
btw, i really like your "currently enjoying"-section in the sidebar, 'love to get inspiration for cookbooks (and music)...

Hi everyone! Concerning an English version of Sebastian's "Wie koch' ich...?": the publishing company is thinking about a possible approach (due to some local specifics); other countries have already expressed interest, an update is expected within the next half year.

Kung Foodie, I'd say at peak times there were between 15 and 20 people.

Bea, Of course we helped cooking, preparing ingredients and throwing pancakes in the air - which we all caught again ;)

I'm not yet very familiar with your blog but I must stop to leave a comment: Wow, I dream of one day taking such beautiful photos! You succeed in capturing the mood, making everyone look beautiful, highlighting interesting colors and shapes, making food look tasty, and all that apparently on the fly, with no elaborate lighting or set-ups. How did you learn? What is your secret?

Concerning "O’s interest in absurdly sharp knives and his current mission to find the perfect knife (does it exist??)": It does exist.

The basic thing is that modern INOX-steels are too hard. If you switch to carbon steel, which does rust (in fact INOX rusts too, only very slowly) you get very good knives. If you take suche carbon steel knives and pull them only a few times over a sharpening steel, they get so sharp you can use them for shaving, literally (I tried).
The best ones I know are those from Robert Herder in Solingen; his manufactury is called Manufaktur Windmühle.
In Munich they are e.g. sold at Manufactum.

I have now a whole set of 5 different knives from him. I especially recommend the Hechtsäbelklinge form, if you want to try one - the form is uncommon but very versatile for everything, from cutting herbs very fine to cutting sensitive and disintegrating material.
I use no other knives for cooking anymore and proselytised most of my family to those knives.

I've been reading your blog for a few weeks now and it's always so delicious and inspiring. Lovely photography and a gorgeous clean site design, as well as fantastic writing. Great stuff...and Kaiserschmarrn are indeed delicious.

Laura

Mar 30th, 2006

What an inspired review! Both your photograpy (as always) and commentary vividly described what sounded like a fantastic evening. I hope the publishers do intend to produce an english version because I agree that the world can't have too many cookboks, in as many languages as possible! Thanks for the great post.

the awsome perfectness of this kitchen is quite anoying. It looks cool, practical and comfortable to sit and cook in. Now I'm depressed by knowing that I probably will never have such a great kitchen....